


Two Breaths Walking

by LanadelBeyoncePuncher



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Homophobia, M/M, Some OOC Characteristics, Strained Relationships, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 16:06:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5877082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LanadelBeyoncePuncher/pseuds/LanadelBeyoncePuncher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cole finds that keeping a relationship is much harder than starting one, especially when everything he does seems to work against him time and time again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Breaths Walking

**Author's Note:**

> First time writing glacier, but this is dedicated to my friend Nemo who loves the angst as much as the fluff.

Cole could never bring himself to speak his mind around Zane, regardless of the situation at hand. It wasn't fear of his ideas being rejected, no, it was the distraction of pale blond hair, of carefully precise fingers, and pale blue eyes which gleamed as though they had been carved from ice itself. Cole feared he would let something personal slip if he were to contribute to the conversation. So he kept quiet, bantering with Jay or Kai instead, and forced the unwanted desires of a longing heart beneath lock and key.

Cole hadn't realized that instead of creating a well-rounded secret, his rough emotions would be pressed into a diamond, one so precious and impossible to break. Drifting closer to Zane subconsciously and foregoing his pact of passivity brought the earth ninja closer to his friends than ever before, but not without consequence. The hardened rock around his heart was chipped away, little by little, exposing the secret feelings beneath until Cole could no longer ignore the treasure resting within him.

It started with a question.

“So, do you feel love?” Cole had asked out of the blue when he lingered at the dinner table for thirds while Zane cleared plates.

His words gave the nindroid pause, but for only a moment. “I’m sure you’re aware of this, but I don't quite retain emotion like the rest of you. Not to say I haven't experienced love, but I assume it's a different experience than what you’d expect.”

Rising from his seat, Cole padded across the wooden dojo floor with his plate in hand and offered the measly dish to Zane with a soft smile. The nindroid accepted his last dish and set the already polished plate in the sink to be washed when a warm weight pressed against the right side of Zane’s hand. He blinked in confusion, abandoning the chore and turning his head to see Cole’s fingers cautiously curled over his hand, which had been clasping the edge of the sink. Traveling up the earth ninja's arm Zane caught Cole’s flushed cheeks standing out against dark skin as he pretended not to notice his hand touching the nindroid’s. Zane felt as though he should say something to Cole, perhaps to put the anxious earth ninja at ease, but no scenario created by his central processor could possibly put the other man’s troubled stance to rest. It feels like an eternity passes before Cole parts his lips to speak.

“If I said I loved you, would you love me back?” Cole whispers in fear he’ll shatter the already tense silence between them.

“I...do not follow. I already love you as a brother, Cole,” Zane replies simply. His words are not the ones the earth ninja seeks, seeing how his shoulders sag and the hand resting on his slowly peels away.

“I mean, I love you as-,” he pauses, trying to find the proper explanation for the nindroid. Giving up on his search, Cole turns to Zane and gently directs the white ninja’s body to mirror his own, before running his thumb along the nindroid’s cheek. “More than a brother. It’s deeper than that.”

Zane doesn't speak as his sensors attempt to compile data on Cole’s touch, his words, the true meaning to a love reaching ‘deeper’ than a mere brother. “I do not understand.”

Cole smiles wryly and shakes his head. “I didn't think you would. Look, can I do something? Something to you, it won't hurt, I just...want to show you what I mean.” He was trembling with anticipation, but if it was acceptance or rejection, Zane was unable to differentiate between the two. Whatever Cole had planned wouldn't possibly cause a rift between them, not with how carefully he was posing the unusual request.

“Alright. You may proceed,” Zane confirmed as he let his attention focus solely on Cole’s hopeful features.

“Okay. Can you uh, close your eyes, though?” Cole asks softly while shifting on his feet.

Zane sighs, but nods and closes his eyes, bracing himself for whatever would come next. “If you so wish.”

Nothing but darkness greets Zane as he waits with baited breath for the odd action Cole wished for him to partake in. At first, he assumes it’s all been a joke and the black haired ninja has simply left the room, but when a hand gently tilts his chin up the tiniest bit, Zane knows that Cole is not toying with him for fun. There’s warm breath across his chin before Cole’s lips cover his own as the earth ninja leads Zane into a kiss. It lasts only for a moment before the warmth is pulling away and prompting Zane to open his eyes in order to catch the fleeting sensation.

Cole can't hold the nindroid's eyes as he lets his hand fall back to his side. “Like that. I love you like that.”

“As in a lover?” Zane calls into questions.

“Wha–you knew and you didn't tell me?” Cole stammers as he flinches and grits his teeth with embarrassment. “Dude, come on. That’s cheating.”

Zane merely chuckles and shakes his head. “It is not. I merely wanted to confirm that the love you had mentioned was indeed the kind I had assigned.”

“So...do you want to go out, then? As b-boyfriends?” The earth ninja wonders aloud as he fidgets heavily with his hands. Zane reaches out to steady them, holding them gently in his own palms while his system runs diagnostics on the success probability of such a relationship.

“There is a 30% chance we’ll be incompatible and the relationship will fall apart. Would you still like to take that risk?” He asks, staring up at Cole, who looks back with a beaming grin.

“Only 30%? Well, hey, that’s more than half! Count me in!” Cole laughs with a pleasantly relieved smile while clasping the ice ninja’s hands.

Mirroring his smile, Zane leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to Cole’s cheek, surprised to find the earth ninja staring back with wide eyes and a flushed complexion. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Zane pouts in confusion. “Is that not how lovers celebrate? Will physical affection?”

“N-No! I mean yes! They do, I just, well...wasn't expecting you to take the initiative and uh...k-kiss…” Cole’s words mix into a blubbery mumble as Zane laughs and gently frees one hand to pat the earth ninja’s cheek.

“It’s all right, Cole. I love you too,” He says with a soft smile before pulling the whining ninja back down for another kiss.

* * *

 “Mail! Come and get it!” Jay shouts through the halls of the dojo while toting a small bag filled with admiration letters and various packages for each ninja. “Zane, I left yours on the porch. God, that thing is heavy.”

“The internal hardware upgrade from Borg Industries is finished?” He inquires, reaching Jay first.

“If that’s what you ordered, then I think so. Kai, your fan mail is clogging up the box again!”

“Admit it, you’re just jealous,” Kai teases with a cheeky grin while he awkwardly scoops the oodles of letters out of Jay’s hands.

“Jealous of what? Your great, flaming eyebrows?” Jay snickers, earning himself an unamused groan from Kai. “Oh, right. This is for you, Cole.”

“For me?” the earth ninja parroted when the Lightning ninja handed him a small, slightly crinkled envelope. The handwritten address scrawled along the front cover announced the sender long before Cole broke the seal around the actual letter. It was from his father, a rather short letter compared to the numerous essays which would sometimes show up in the mail, more or less implying a family get-together was necessary after all their time apart.

“ _Well, I guess the old man is getting tired of me not answering his letters_ ,” Cole curses to himself as he tucks the paper into the folds of his gi. “I’m running into town today. Anyone need me to pick up odd items while I'm out?”

“I need more soldering wire for a project if you want to hit up the hardware store on your way back,” Jay requests as he finishes handing out the remaining letters and breaks into his own.

The earth ninja offered up a shrug in response as he passes by the others and slides the front door to the dojo open. Zane is inspecting his delivery, but pauses at Cole’s approach and instead rises onto his feet with a soft smile.

“Leaving so soon?”

“I have some business to take care of.”

He attempts to smile for the nindroid watching him ever so closely, but his facade is merely a loosely pieced together mask when it comes to deceiving Zane. Frowning at Cole’s reluctance, Zane’s eyes dart to the closed door before sliding his hand along his lover’s cheek and into the soft curls of black hair.

“You’re sure there is nothing you’re worried about?” Zane asks ever so softly.

Cole catches his eyes and allows his smile to fade before slowly wrapping an arm around Zane’s waist. “Yes. I need to go alone.”

“I’ll wait here, then. Don’t take too long, you might miss dinner,” he says with a quirk of his lip and a gentle kiss to the corner of Cole’s mouth. Zane isn't surprised when the earth ninja follows, holding the nindroid close to kiss him properly, full and bittersweet with unspoken secrets. The hand clutching a fistful of white fabric shakes with something even Zane can't determine from his normally so open lover.

“Okay. I'll be back,” Cole promises as he pulls back and slowly releases his hold on the nindroid. He turns on his heels and walks stiffly towards the front gate of Wu’s dojo, already dreading the meeting to come.

* * *

 To say the atmosphere was tense would assume a rather gross understatement of Lou’s dining room. Cole couldn't bring himself to make eye contact with his father as a hostile and uncomfortable silence settled like a heavy cloak around his shoulders. As though he was a cornered beast, Cole continues to chew through the meal set before him like an overcooked peace offering. It was steak, maybe. Cole couldn't decipher the peas from the actual meat considering that everything he swallows down tastes bland and unappetizing. It’s his father who speaks first with a harsh clear of his throat.

“Cole, it’s uh, been a while since you came by to visit. I thought you were ignoring my letters for a while there.”

“That might have been the point, dad,” he bites back with more venom than first intended.

Lou’s expression quickly hardens into irritation as he puts down his fork beside his plate and moves on to take a long sip from his water glass. Cole mimics his action, dropping the fork as though it were made of molten iron onto the table, and sitting silently with his hands curling tight knots into the hem of his gi.

“How’s Wu?”

“He’s fine.”

“That Jay kid and the Kai boy. How are they holding up?”

“Same as always.”

“What about that robot. You guys get him working as a proper sentry yet?”

“He’s a nindroid, not a robot!” Cole snaps as he slams a single fist onto Lou’s table, sending their food flying into the air and smacking the plates upon return.

Lou says nothing, but Cole can't tell if he’s biding his time, or merely waiting to watch his son’s reactions. “He’s not a human. Does it even matter?”

“Of course it matters. You don't know him like I do. He’s more than just his parts.”

“All these years and you care more for a robot than your father.”

“Zane doesn't pry into every aspect of my life, _dad_ , and he most certainly doesn't keep telling me to get a girlfriend and move back home!” Cole sneers with disgust.

“I’m concerned about your negligence, Cole. You’re running off god knows where as a ninja and you haven't even taken the time to consider what that does to your old man.”

“What do I care? You never listen to me anyway.”

“I’m listening now. Tell me what’s been happening in your life,” Lou insists as his hand curls around the fist still pressing into his table. Cole’s fingers twitch under the touch, but he relents and allows his father to do as he wishes. Maybe a little unwinding would be good for him.

“I’m trying to keep a handle on being the leader. Nevermind that Kai’s too stubborn to listen and Jay more often than not prefers to goof off instead. Zane is a blessing, really. He’s the most receptive one among all the other ninja and yet, I still can't repay him for his kindness,” Cole begins as he smiles softly and reaches up to fuss with his hair. “I never thought he loved me like–”

The clinking of Lou’s glass clattering to the floor dragged Cole from his fond memories as he glanced over to see the bushy-browed and normally jolly man now staring at him in horror. Glass and water littered the floor in deadly puddles as Lou’s expression darkened tenfold.

“He _loves_ you? Is this some sort of sick joke?!” He spits with scathing rage. “Is this why you don't have a girlfriend? Because you’re off making out with some disgusting, metal homosexual?”

“Dad, enough! You said you wanted to listen!”

“To my son, who I had such high hopes for, not for a shameless mess like you!” Lou growls as his hand tightens around Cole’s, pulling him in close to the furious man. “Listen to me, Cole. Get rid of that man. No son of mine is going to be seeing a slut!”

“He’s not a slut, and you can't just force us apart!” Cole shouts back as he yanks back hard to separate himself from Lou, but to no avail as they both rise to their feet, leaning over the dining room table. “I’m an adult, you have no right to do this!”

“You’re still my son, and what I say is law in this household. If you do not tell the robot that you’re done with him, I’ll make sure the whole world knows of your disgusting addiction. You will no longer be welcome here, boy,” Lou instructs as he releases Cole with a harsh shove to his chest. “Get out of my sight.”

“But, dad–!”

“I said get out! Don't ever come back, unless you’re through with this filthy sin!” The dancer bellows, throwing plates and glasses to the floor with a broad sweep of his arm across his cracked table.

Cole doesn't speak, only staring at his father’s back as it rises and falls with every shortened, furious breath. He scrambles to his feet after a few moments and bolts out the door, leaving it rocking in the bitter winds as the earth ninja shoves though countless citizens of Ninjago in a frightened dash. He could still hear the echoes of Lou’s insults, see the boiling rage and disgust behind his eyes, feel the weight of their conversation pulling at his feet until they moved as slow as molasses. He was wrong. He was wrong, there wasn't anything wrong with Zane. It was perfectly fine. They’d been dating for almost two months now without incident, so why, oh why did Cole have to slip up and ruin everything?

” _Get rid of that man. No son of mine is going to be seeing a slut!_ ”

“He’s not a slut. He’s my...my…”  
Cole hiccups as his feet finally give out and bring the black ninja tumbling onto his face just outside the outskirts of Ninjago.

” _If you do not tell the robot you’re done with him, I’ll make sure the whole world knows of your disgusting addiction_.”

“I love him.”

Cole slowly sits up, the taste of blood and gravel on his lips as he shakes with unshed tears and fierce heartache. They couldn't know. He’d lose everyone, even Zane, if the others found out just what _disgusting_ things Cole was partaking in. Breaking it off was the only solution, no matter how much it would hurt.

* * *

 “You don't want to go out anymore?”

The question is thick with disbelief and fear from the white ninja as he stares across the table at Cole’s unmoving form.

“It just won't work out,” Cole replies without much hesitation. He refuses to meet Zane’s eyes.

“There’s only a 30% chance it won't work out, remember? I-I had calculated the risk assessment and found it relatively low for us–”

Cole cuts him off with a harsh ‘Zane’; turning his gaze from his shaking hands to the frantic nindroid sitting across from him. So close and yet so far in their cold little room. “We’re through. This is the end of you and I.”

“Cole. Cole, please tell me this is a joke,” Zane all but begs as he watches the earth ninja push his chair away from the table with a harsh scrape. Reaching out in desperation, the nindroid wraps his fingers around Cole’s wrist and holds him back for a mere moment, redirecting Cole’s attention back to himself. “Please. I don't want to be without you. Just tell me this is all a joke.”

Cole doesn't speak as he yanks his hand out of Zane’s grasp to stalk towards the door. He lingers in the frame for what could resemble an eternity before sighing and shaking his head. “It’s not a joke. Goodbye, Zane.”

* * *

 Shivering in the frigid, unforgiving winter air, Cole scowls as he knocks three times on the trunk belonging to Zane’s old workshop. Birchwood Forest was not known for being a forgiving biome.

“Zane...Zane, if you’re in there, I need to talk to you,” Cole sighs in exasperation. Curls of steam brush against his numbed nose while howling winds answer the earth ninja’s words with bitter silence. “Please? Zane, I’m begging you, open up.”

Closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against the freezing bark, Cole pleads with whatever gods may exist that his efforts to track down Zane were not in vain. Hours of endless wandering had passed him by while the black haired man stood no closer to his goal than the first step into Birchwood Forest. Fingers long numb curl into cold yarn as Cole grips his winter coat tighter around his shivering body. There is no response to his silent pleas, no miracle playing out before his eyes, only unforgiving wilderness thrashing his body with the intent to kill.

“Cole.”

It’s not a question. He’s not surprised. Cole pivots on his heels and nearly topples over at the sight of Zane’s ice coated hair frozen perfectly into place.

“Are you okay? Why are you frozen?” He presses as soon as Zane takes a step towards his workshop.

Icy laughter, cold enough to match the forest chill, mimics the concern in Cole’s voice while Zane pops open the hidden panel in the tree. “Now you care. After all this time, you've decided to come back.”

“Of course I care!” Cole spits back without a second of thought. Pointedly ignoring his retort, Zane descends the ramp secured into the tree while the earth ninja’s heavy footsteps pound against the metal spiral. “Hey! Zane, where are you going?”

“You have eyes. Try looking beyond your own self-interested view for once and perhaps you'll find the answer you so desperately seek,” the nindroid explains without missing a beat. Clicking on the internal heater of Dr. Julian’s workshop, Zane holds out his hands over the small, mechanical device with a weary frown. He can hear Cole approaching before the earth ninja begins to speak his piece. “What?” Zane glances over his shoulder at the trembling fool dripping water all over the floorboards of the workshop.

Cole pauses mid-stride to catch his breath. “I-I came back for you. We don't have to be apart anymore, everything’s alright now.”

“It just won't work out,” Zane counters and turns his cheek to the black haired man once more. “We’re through.”

“It doesn't have to be! I came out here to–”

“No, you listen to me this time!” The nindroid snaps as Cole’s wavering pleas grind to a halt. He turns, fisting a handful of the earth ninja’s sweater between metallic digits, pulling the taller man down to his height. “Those words were yours. You left me without any explanation and yet you expect me to simply accept you once more? You follow me to the last place I could think of to escape your face and expect kindness? You _ruined_ everything! You ruined my happiness and your own!”

“I came back to say I was sorry!”

“You can't fix this with an apology!”

Staring deep into Cole’s eyes, chest pounding with heat and explosive anger, Zane bites back another scathing remark resting on the tip of his tongue as the black fabric of Cole’s gi slips from his grasp. There’s hurt reflected in those eyes; pain, longing, remorse, guilt, regret. Zane refused to allow himself another slip of the heart, even if it meant destroying the one of a man he held...once held dear.

“So this is it? We just split up and never see each other again? You're going to abandon the ninja because of me?!” Cole lurches forward with each question as he reaches out for Zane, following the nindroid’s backpedaling until the earth ninja catches his arm and pulls the white ninja forward. “We’re good together, it doesn't have to be this way,” he insists, nearly crushing Zane in a tight embrace.

Zane’s frantic fingers dig into the human’s back like an animal struggling to free itself from a trap. “Let go. Let go of me, Cole,” he demands as the earth ninja smiles bitterly against Zane’s shoulder.

“I won't let you go this time. Everything will be alright, you'll see.”

Perhaps it was his words, or maybe Zane’s discomfort with their proximity, but within moments the nindroid’s foot was driving itself into Cole’s knee, knocking the man to the ground. “I said, let me go already!”

Out of nowhere, a spear of ice embeds itself beside Cole’s ankle as the ninja scrambles backwards until his back collides with the metal ramp, every fiber of his being screaming for him to run. Cole blinks in confusion, trying to understand where he went wrong when Zane lifts his hand in warning.

“Get. Out,” he commands in an emotionless drone.

“Zane, please, I can fix this!” Cole begs, only for another icicle to fly out of the white ninja’s palm. The black ninja dodges with a roll, spinning up the ramp and onto his shaking knees from the sudden attack. “Zane-!”

“I said get out!”

When Cole refused to move, Zane grit his teeth and yanked a pair of shurikens from his belt, throwing both at the unwavering earth ninja and driving him up the spiraling staircase.

“Don't _ever_ come back!” He bellows while quivering with unparalleled anguish. The door to Dr. Julian’s workshop slams shut with a loud clang, leaving the nindroid isolated among the remnants of his father’s life once again. Slapping a hand over his eyes and sinking back against the unused crafting table, Zane curled into himself with a pitiful sob, only to be drowned out by the crackling of the single, lonely internal hearth.

* * *

  _It’s all your fault. He’s out there alone because of you._

A thousand terrible scenarios race through Cole’s mind as he leads the three remaining ninja through the snow storm dredging Birchwood Forest in bitter flurries. Only an hour ago had Zane’s falcon returned to the dojo with grave news of a skeleton ambush on the nindroid’s hidden laboratory. If they knew Zane was present within the forest remained uncertain, but the longer the group waited, the less likely Zane would be able to hold off the threat on his own.

“Out of my way! Come on, we don't have time to wait!” Cole bellows to the rest of his team when the faint footfalls of Kai, Jay, and Lloyd can no longer be heard.

“Cole, slow down, dude!” Jay shouts after the panicking, frantically racing earth ninja as the team passes fallen skeletons scattered among the pristine piles of snows.

A hand rises and grabs at the earth ninja’s ankle, but bones are no match for the powerful heel slamming them back into splinters of white dust. Cole was known to be a literal force of nature when pressured with the prospect of a time limit. None of the ninja were expecting to see Zane’s falcon so soon; especially not when all it carried was a distress call addressing a surprise ambush from Birchwood Forest. Which is why Cole couldn't slow down, couldn't allow the others to catch up with him, because Zane was in danger and it was all thanks to Cole’s careless words.

“I’m sure he’s fine!” Kai pants as he watches the black ninja break away from their group to continue on forward. “Holy shit, I had no idea you could run that fast.”

“Let him go, you guys. I think this is long overdue,” Lloyd insists from the very back of the formation.

“Long overdue? What are you talking about, Lloyd?” Jay asks with a raise of his brow.

“I thought you guys knew already,” the blond replies as several skeletons rise from the snow, forcing the group to slow down and fight their way through the unexpected enemies.

Cole, undeterred by any resistance, continued on from the main group as splashes of ice coating the base of several trees guided him through the chaotic battle field. “Zane! Zane, where are you?” He shouts to the howling winds whirling snow and the occasional bone around in freezing circles.

To his left, Cole caught a glance of a towering spire of ice, a structure he wholeheartedly knew had not existed a few seconds beforehand. He spun on his heels and took up a burst of speed as the telltale sounds of distant combat crept into his ears.

 _Please_.

Breathing hard and dodging the bone hands rising from the snow, Cole grit his teeth and leapt over a fallen log, passing the remains of a frozen skeleton encased in ice.

_Please don't let it be too late._

Another skelesicle passes by the earth ninja as the faint clashing of blades crescendos into shouts of surprise and fury.

_I’m sorry._

Suddenly, all is completely silent.

Cole’s breath catches in his throat as he skids to a halt before the remains of an extended battle between ice and monsters. Icicle spikes protrude from the ground in a large semi-circle, having speared quite a numerous amount of skeletons as well as frozen a few inside of their thick casings. Standing triumphant, knuckles battered and clothes torn, was the one person Cole had longed to see more than anyone in the world.

“Zane!” He shouts, sprinting towards the nindroid with a bright smile.

“Cole? You’re–” Zane began, only for his words to fall short as Cole pulled him into a hug, holding the nindroid tight against his chest. “C-Cole!”

“You’re okay! Did they hurt you?” The earth ninja fires off quickly as he pulls back to inspect Zane’s face.

“I'm fine. What about you? You ran all the way here, through an ambush!”

“Who cares what I went through? I thought I was going to lose you!”

“I care!” Zane insists with a firm hand on Cole’s shoulder to steady the black ninja. “I drove you away when you came offering apologies instead of listening. I wanted to believe you, but I was...I just…”

“You were scared,” Cole finishes sadly.

“Yes. I was scared you’d leave me again if I let you get close.”

Sighing, the earth ninja clutches Zane’s waist and gently presses his forehead against the nindroid’s, just holding him gently in the midst of the waning winter storm. “I’m sorry, Zane. I shouldn't have done that to you. I-I love you more than anyone else in the world, and as cheesy as it sounds, I never wanted to let you go. Can we...start over?”

With a chuckle, Zane leans into Cole to gently kiss the earth ninja on the lips, pulling back after a mere moment. “Start over as in lovers?”

“Oh my god, you’re such a goof,” Cole laughs before happily picking up the nindroid and swinging him around in circles.  
  
Zane joins Cole in their merriment, wrapping his arms around the other man’s neck as they swung together, until the earth ninja stepped on a patch of wayward ice and fell backwards into the snow, taking Zane down along with him.

“Shit...that hurt…” Cole coughs as Zane’s weight rests heavily on his chest.

“Are you alright, Cole?” Zane asks as he sits up on his knees to give the fallen ninja more breathing room.

Groaning, the earth ninja slowly sits up, offering a shrug of his shoulders to the concerned nindroid. “I’m fine. Just slipped.”

Jay’s voice breaks their intimate calm as he approaches with hurried footsteps. “Hey guys, are you oka–um...am I interrupting something?”

“We uh–”

“T-this isn't-!” Cole and Zane begin at the same time as Kai and Lloyd approach the confused lightning ninja from behind.

“I thought you already knew, Jay,” Lloyd says with a casual shrug when the blue ninja turns around to look between his friends.

“ _Kai_ knew before I did? Oh, come on!” Jay groans.

“So did Nya and Wu.”

“And nobody thought to tell me?!”

Cole blinks owlishly as he watches the other three babble on to themselves and pay no heed to the two ninja sitting in the snow. “Did you know?”

Zane shakes his head. “I thought we were careful enough not to get caught.”

Seeing the rest of the team laughing over Jay’s dense obscurity to the “damn obvious” brought to life a sense of relief in Cole. It made his heart swell with a liberating openness the earth ninja never believed could be possible. Turning to Zane with a grin, Cole gently threaded one hand through pale blond hair and tugged him down for a kiss. A sweet, freeing kiss which brought him nearly to tears and accompanied with a breathlessness Cole knew he would relish for days to come.

“Woah. I mean, you guys can have fun, but shouldn't you kiss in, I don't know, NOT a forest overrun with deadly skeletons?” Jay rants with a hand slapped over his eyes in a vain attempt to give Cole and Zane some privacy.

Zane broke their kiss, looking up at the others and nodding once. “Yes, of course.” Rising to his feet, the nindroid held out his hand to Cole, who took hold and allowed himself to be pulled onto his feet. “Let’s go home.”

“Never thought you’d ask. Seriously, it’s freezing out here,” Jay grumbles, much to Lloyd’s irritated huff and Kai’s rolling eyeballs.

Taking up the rear of their group, Cole and Zane walk along silently side-by-side, breathing falling into sync as a hand casually brushes against the nindroid’s. Slowly, curling fingers and palms around until their hands intertwined, the two held fast to the newly budding feelings between them. Cole smiles to himself, brushing his thumb along Zane’s knuckles, knowing all their pain, all their hardship would be worth it—this love—in the end.


End file.
